News Media of Istkalen

[Istkalen]

The Citizens' Voice: Polling on important issues

1. Do you support the establishment of the J-TAI in its present form?

• YES: 0,9% (-1,2)
• NO: 99,0% (+1,3)
• NO OPINION: 0,1% (-0,1)

2. Do you support the presence of Reitzmic troops?

• YES: 0,5% (-0,5)
• NO: 99,4% (+0,5)
• NO OPINION: 0,1% (-)

3. Do you support the presence of Vardic troops?

• YES : 0,4% (-0,6)
• NO: 89,8% (+44,1)
• NO OPINION: 9,8% (-41,2%)

4. Would you support an extended joint-EU presence in Istkalen for peacekeeping purposes?

• YES: 47,3% (+4,2)
• NO: 35,5% (-2,0)
• NO OPINION: 17,2% (-2,2)

5. Would you support the J-TAI if it collaborated with the present institutions of government which function democratically in Istkalen, even if it excludes the provisional government?

• YES: 14,3% (-31,0)
• NO: 80,4% (+38,3)
• NO OPINION: 5,3% (-7,3)

6. Would you support an ERF deployment?

• YES: 49,5% (+0,5)
• NO: 43,2% (-)
• NO OPINION: 7,3% (-0,5)

7. Are you in support of the government in Līresz?

• YES: 84,5% (+8,2)
• NO: 9,4% (-4,3)
• NO OPINION: 6,1% (-3,9)

8. Are you in support of the People's Committees?

• YES: 95,3% (+2,1)
• NO: 1,7% (-4,1)
• NO OPINION: 3,0% (+2,0)

9. Are you in support of the producers' unions, as a concept?

• YES: 95,1% (+0,3)
• NO: 3,2% (-)
• NO OPINION: 1,7% (-0,3)

10. Are you in support of the administration of the producers' unions?

• YES: 81,3% (+33,1)
• NO: 16,8% (-31,0)
• NO OPINION: 1,9% (-2,1)

---

Over the past few days, there has been a massive drop in support for the present occupation of Istkalen, primarily because of the so-called "Vardic hysteria" in the north of the country, as well as worries that the country's resources, both mineral and human, may soon be exploited by occupiers. Several conspiracy theories, especially one which claims that occupiers are responsible for the death of Gertrude Echteran, have also contributed to this.

The unpopularity of the J-TAI, the central institution of the occupation, is extremely high. The elections it plans to hold are expected to be widely boycotted; at the same time, almost no one in Istkalen has actually carried out its orders. They are promulgated by the government - yes; but the primary instruments of execution, the state occupational unions and people's committees, rarely actually execute those that are controversial, or rather 'attempt' to execute them in the slowest and least useful ways, bending interpretations to the point that they are made beyond nonsensical.

"What are we supposed to do?" wrote the People's Committee of Liremer in a statement. "This order obviously tells us that the city must be made in the shape of a clown, and that everyone in it must also dress like clowns," referring to an order that had nothing to do with clowns. "How can we enforce this? How? We are trying our very best, but it will take some time!"

At the same time, daily burnings of effigies of the members of the organization take place outside of its headquarters, on weekends with extremely large audiences, who often cheer in delight. The events are described as "almost hysterical in the happiness of their participants; people run around as though they are drunk, drunk on the happiness that one day, the fate of the effigies will befall the J-TAI."

Support for the present government, especially the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly, who appear to have deposed the unpopular Kerel, has risen massively. As the only government in decades to have successfully managed to restore democracy, as well as to expand it into the economic and cultural spheres, they are viewed as highly competent, especially in comparison to the J-TAI, which is seen as colonialist.

Yet many realize that the country needs stabilization, and have thus supported potential peacekeeping operations in Istkalen. The words of Premier Ikomar sum it up best:

"We want to carry on as we have carried on for the millennia. We want to manage our own affairs, we want to remain independent. But we know that what those who claimed to lead us have done, and we understand that we must pay penance for that. They may come to ensure that we remain peaceful, that the horrors that happened will not repeat themselves."

[Istkalen]

Õhtuleht: Ikomar issues an appeal for calm; the Northern Radio is banned

The hysteria in the north continues unabated; if anything, it has intensified as a result of spreading conspiracy theories, regarding the potential exploitation of mineral resources, as well as the death of Gertrude Echteran.

Schools across the country have been shut down entirely; in its last statement, the Northern Radio made the claim that the Vards were coming as to kill everyone and "re-settle" the area, resulting in a massive exodus, during which many, especially young adults, unwilling to flee were essentially abducted by security forces and forced to go south "for their own safety." It is unclear what the present situation is, however.

The only to remain are small groups of security forces, which presently guard workplaces as to ensure that they are not looted. The cities are almost entirely empty.

Head of State Ikomar has issued an appeal for calm.

"I know," he said, "that many of you are terrified. That you feel that you are condemned to death; that behind you are coming barbarians who will kill you all. That you have lived in terror for the past few weeks, and now that terror seems finally to be realized in one fell swoop."

"It is true that we are in danger. But not of death, not of enslavement, not of pillaging and of violation. We will remain safe, physically, safe and healthy. They will not harm us in that way. What they will do is take away our sovereignty, permanently. Look at their flag, look at their manifestoes and so much more. They do not plan to ever allow us to ever be an independent nation, ever again. We will be but a colony, from which they will extract and extract until there is no more. To leave is to hasten this fate; our cities, our factories, our workshops, our mines, are left undefended; our people are made to look crazed and not to be trusted with state - too unintelligent, too destructive to be allowed to roam free. They will be given the opportunity and the reason to destroy our Istkalen. So, I beg of you, return in calmness. Collect the dead so that they may be buried with dignity; and return to your homes, your workplaces, so that they may be kept in your hands, our hands, so that we may retain our independence and may not be colonized. Return quietly, and resist, peacefully. But do not continue this madness, do not, I beg of you. If you do, you will have fallen into their trap, and then where will we be, a few months, a few years, from now?"

Minister Sepp has ordered military movement into the area, as to temporarily maintain order and ensure that those in the area are entirely safe. The Union of Audio Broadcasts, as well as the Chamber of Arts and Literature, has ordered the cessation of broadcasts of the "Northern Radio," at the behest of Ikomar in an emergency session.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Ikomar says J-TAI is 'useless'
(OOC: I understand the reasons for inactivity. This is not an attack on anyone, save IRP.)

Head of State Liris Ikomar has denounced the Joint Transitional Authority in Istkalen as both 'useless' and 'ineffective,' in what amounted to a tirade delivered at a recent press conference.

"We remain in power solely because the alternative is a power vacuum. When the administration of Kerel was dormant, look at what happened: total chaos! Different groups jostling for power, no one knowing the exact truth of what was happening. Various parties claimed all sorts of things; the state trade union tried to take control of the economy as communists and ultra-conservatives tried to claim that it was the time of their 'revolution;' as a result, no one knew exactly what was happening, what to do! The J-TAI did nothing! In fact, it hasn't done anything at all, in all its time here! Oh, [The Citizens' Voice] says that 'orders' have been given out, that we have promulgated them - none of this has happened! We have received nothing from the J-TAI at all!"

"Oh yes, they have their little manifesto which they are supposed to carry out, yes, yes! But they haven't done anything to deliver on it, and in any case no one in Istkalen even knows what it is! No one, absolutely no one! I don't know what is in it, the Council of Ministers doesn't, the National Assembly doesn't, absolutely no one does! And they say that they will stay here until they are 'satisfied!' What does that mean? I ask you all, what does that mean? Will they stay here, like leeches, stealing from the treasury and getting fat off of it, while continuing to do nothing of importance? Or will they try to ban us, the legal government of Istkalen, from this country, so that they have better access to that treasury and thus can run off with it? And after that, return to their state of sloth-like existence?"

"They don't even care during a time of national crisis! Hysteria in the north, who actually deals with it, we do! They don't care at all, haven't cared, and will never care! So long as they can fatten themselves with the people's money, they won't!"

"Tell me one thing that they have done, just one! You can't, because they've done nothing! No reconstruction projects - that was organized by our National Assembly! No welfare - that too by us! They've done nothing except sleep, eternally, truly eternally, in their building!"

Ikomar was then asked to take sedatives by an aide, which he promptly did before abruptly ending the conference. He has since issued an apology:

"My behavior today," he wrote, "was uncouth and inexcusable. However, I continue to hold to the fact that our Republic is the only government competent enough to govern Istkalen and stabilize it from the extreme instability caused by the Instrument of Surrender and the Hampton Declaration."

Despite the apparent rashness of this outburst, however, it has only increased support for Ikomar, who previously was unpopular as a result of his decision to remove Kerel, considered a last vestige of true independence and an unoccupied Istkalen, and thus a symbol of sorts. His recent actions, however, have shown Ikomar to be someone entirely different - a revolutionary of sorts, for the restoration of independence and the creation of a more just society, to many

[Istkalen]

People's Daily: The Communist Party of Istkalen endorses the CPCS

The Communist Party of Istkalen, in recent weeks, has become worried about the conditions prevailing in Czech Slavia, as well as in the Socialist Republican Party there. We of course understand the need and necessity of pursuing and consolidating socialism per the material conditions existing in one's country, rather than following strict dogmas - for example, in our development of our theory of "Socialism with Istkalener Characteristics," we have done so heavily, for the material conditions in Istkalen, which allow the landed peasant and the artisan continued security, due to prevailing societal structures and beliefs, in spite of industrialization, greatly differ from those existing in the West. However, we feel that the Socialist Republican Party is deviating from this necessity and has instead become a client-party of the bourgeoisie in Inquista.

Let it be clear, the Communist Party of Istkalen does not take issue with the liberalization ongoing in the country, as we recognize it as a critical part of developing and consolidating socialism in the country against international forces. However, it is the way that this liberalization has occurred that we take issue with. Rather than complementing socialism, it instead appears to be developing a form of capitalism in the country that is placing it under the demands of the Inquistan bourgeoisie.

Per the reports of shortages yesterday, it appears that the state is orienting itself towards, rather than developing the socialist community and society, the service of Inquista, supplying the goods and capital that its bourgeosie requires. It has allowed the labor of the people in Czech Slavia to again be made the capital of elites; rather than abolishing the remains of capitalism, which we recognize can be done through the maintenance of a free market system, to an extent, it appears to be redeveloping them.

We see, for example, that the government, rather than addressing the legitimate complaints of the people, instead tells them, quite bluntly, to shut up and be grateful. This is not the correct behavior to be expected of a people's democracy; it approaches that of the capitalist state, where the starving masses are told that they are free and should be grateful that the state is protecting their so-called freedom. There also appears to have been unhealthy glorification of the country's leader. Certainly, the revolution must be united; but not around a leader. We work for a day when class and leader no longer exist, not for one where both are deeply entrenched.

We also see this on the cultural front, where there has been a disgusting trend towards infantilizing the proletariat. The workers' culture must be well developed, not weakened to the point where it is indistinguishable from the scribblings of a child. To do this is to reveal one's true intentions and class, for it shows that one regards the workers as lowly and unintelligent - people that must be led and who cannot be trusted to form the new society. Also to be commented on is the decadent debauchery that continuously goes on in the ministries on Czech Slavia, which is disgusting and shows deviation from the socialist movement.

We thus find ourselves in agreement with the current Communist Party of Czech Slavia, led by Josef Hrzal. The Socialist Republican Party of Czech Slavia is evidently no longer serving the people, and certainly not socialist or Marxist by any definition of the two. It is a client-party for Inquista, which functions as to serve its bourgeoisie and to reverse the great advances made in Czech Slavia towards the abolition of capitalism. Its rhetoric serves to uphold the continued presence of class and state; some approaches the idea of class-collaborationism, with their glorification of the liberal democracy and their apparent refusal to acknowledge it for what it truly is.

The revolution in the Czech lands must continue. While it cannot be held to ridiculous dogmas, it must work to abolish the capitalistic system. We see only the Communist Party of Czech Slavia as recognizing this fact, and thus as the only competent body capable of continuing the revolution there. However, we dearly hope that the Socialist Republican Party, presently filled with capitalist roaders, realizes its errors and corrects itself.

[Istkalen]

This post is deleted!

[Istkalen]

Northern Radio: The evidence is here - they are coming to enslave us!

You are listening, dear citizens, to the Northern Radio. They have tried to silence us, the occupiers, we stand unbowed.

We have made, however, a disturbing discovery. The present broadcast will be quite short, unfortunately, as we are worried of discovery - and, of course, we all know what the occupiers do to those who are discovered. We will be reading the document discovered detailing our extermination, after which we shall conduct a short analysis.

We will now begin the reading:

---

"ADDENDUM TO THE HAMPTON DECLARATION:

1. The war-making power of Istkalen is to be destroyed entirely. It is imperative that the population of Istkalen is reduced to a pre-industrial state. They are very resourceful pests; we must leave them with nothing. The same machinery that is used to make furniture can be repurposed, by them, to make weaponry. We shall conduct the destruction of all factories and industrial implements over the course of a year, upon the destruction of the so-called "Republic." The population are to become peasants, entirely. We expect that between 25% to 50% of the population will perish in the period of adjustment; this is beneficial, as it crushes the spirit of the pests as to ensure that they do not make war again.

2. Intellectualism and education in Istkalen are to be destroyed. These two contribute to the war-making spirit; they must be removed entirely if the nation is to be safe, never to make war again, and to be exploited. The schools will be temporarily closed and repurposed. They will teach matters solely of a simple agricultural nature, and will gradually be integrated into the family so that the last vestiges of the war-making Istkalen are destroyed. The intellectuals are to be wiped out; we shall take them all, as to ensure that they cannot use their minds as to turn against us.

3. The morally-detestable parts of the Istkalener culture are to be exterminated. The hordes must be Westernized. Their Godless priests will be removed as to allow for Westernization; un-Christian behavior will be punished severely. The ulsikes will be abolished and the behavior of it punished; the good and wholesome Christian marriage shall become the basis of society, with the inferior woman under the superior man. Their culture shall thus be removed, making them weaker and more amenable to us, less war-like; we shall crush them until they accept, making them totally docile.

4. The people of Istkalen must be made dependent. We will be responsible totally for their defense; we will coddle them until they do not know how to function, apart from their farming. They will not be allowed to dispose of what they make upon the transformation of society; all their products shall be given to us as to return to them through various institutions of distribution we will set up. They are thus made ever less intelligent and thus less likely to make war, as well as more dependent and thus more likely to worship us as gods.

5. The people of Istkalen must be under our thumb. They will have no possessions and no control over even themselves, so that we may control and regiment them entirely. They will work on the collective farms we decide the boundaries of; marry those we order them to marry; work elsewhere if we decide for them to work elsewhere; eat from the canteens we shall set up; and follow every one of our orders entirely.

6. We shall engineer the division of Istkalen into two states, which shall be gradually "integrated" into the Reitzmic and Vardic cultures, although allowed to remain independent. In both, the structure of state will appear democratic, but will continue to uphold the principles of our Declaration. It will all look rosy, but we will have total control over everything.

7. The resources of Istkalen are to be under the direct control over the two states of the great Coalition, which once and for all put an end to the Istkalener pests. The people of Istkalen will never be allowed to use them or to partake in the benefits they will give us; they will be made stupid to the point where they will simply forget their existence and continue in their miserable existences, fully under our thumbs.

8. Over a period of two hundred years, we will slowly reduce the portions given out into the canteens. We will thus gradually exterminate the population of Istkalen, and remove those pests from the world. All will celebrate.

9. Settlement of the Istkalener territory will continue. The collective farms are to be gradually reduced in size over two hundred years, and the excess land distributed to morally and physically healthy Reitzmics and Vards. From these territories, we shall establish our New State, the experiment of which must be made as successful as possible, so that we may apply them to our own countries in turn. Liberal democracy now threatens our hegemony; we will use the pathetic Istkalen to ensure that the danger it poses is neutralized.

---

The document is typical of Western pigs. They are concerned primarily with our extermination, wanting to dominate us, as they see us as a threat to their hegemony. We also see, in the end, that they reject democracy entirely, revealing the truth of their system. They are concerned with the protection of wealth and power; and of course, they will do anything to protect both. Their natures are the same; they are like crows, attracted to that which is shiny. But unlike crows, they are quite brutal.

So we tell you, citizens, to be wary and remain safe; and to always be ready. One day, when they come, we must be able to protect ourselves.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: Ikomar addresses the National Assembly

The National Assembly was today addressed by Head of State Liros Ikomar, who called for national unity and order in a period of chaos.

Ikomar argued that party-line and economic division had to be overcome for the benefit of all citizens, as to ensure that Istkalen remained one and thus able to face what he referred to as "an overwhelming crisis."

"Our Istkalen now faces the greatest struggle of its existence. To face it, to overcome it, it must be truly united. Unity does not mean conformity, nor does it mean, or necessitate, obedience to God, to the state, and so on and so forth, as so many have implied, again and again, in the past. No. Unity means the abolition of division - political division, economic division, social division, division of all kinds. It means the abolition of the tribalistic attitudes that have plagued our nation; and its replacement with respect and loyalty. We must respect each other equally; we must be loyal to our nation and the Republic, and to no other group," he said..

Several delegates, largely from the Chamber of State, asked Ikomar as to whether such a policy would necessitate political uniformity and the abolition of the present political associations. He would answer simply - no to the first, but yes to the second.

"The associations are a good way of representing in this Assembly the diverse voices of our nation, which we cannot extinguish," said he. "Uniformity in opinion must not be a goal - if anything, it must be prevented. The structure of the associations, however, are in fact a danger. Unlike the cultural associations, unlike the occupational unions, they do not serve to unite the Republic. They are institutions meant to 'fight' each other, so to speak - institutions uniting only their supporters which want only to take over the state. This is not a state that should exist in a true democracy, one which genuinely represents the people. Rather, there should instead be a single institution - not a single party, certainly not, but rather a broad-based front of sorts - that unites within it all who are politically active, whatever their cause may be. So, simply put - no to the first, no forever, but yes to the second."

He would go on to focus on the role of cultural associations, and most prominently occupational unions, in promoting unity and preserving "national ideals and morality," arguing that they allow for greater equality, in that they cause people to view each other as equal while enforcing economic equality, and thus for greater unity, for according to him, the promotion of inequality inevitably leads to greed, anger, and general instability.

The end of the address was a simple review of the new infrastructural projects, summarizing its basic goals - improving transportation, connectivity, and health - as well as much of what it has done, including the construction and renovation of bridges and tunnels, the improvement of roads, the construction and repair of electricity and communication lines, the mass construction of social housing, the expansion of canteens and nurseries, mandates to define urban planning as to make it 'greener,' and most importantly, the campaign against hysteria in the North, among others. It would conclude by tying the project to the concept of national unity, pointing out that all must live a life of dignity in order for justice and unity to be promoted, while at the same time using it as an example of the workings of the republican institutions - again, for the most part, the state occupational unions and chambers - and their efficacy in terms of general function as well as in promoting unity in the spheres of labor and state administration, glorifying "the spirit of the people of Istkalen" all the while.

The address is considered typical of the present government - making overtures towards older times which people view with nostalgia - promoting nationalism, albeit of a civic nature, as well as a soft authoritarianism, argued for as an end to political chaos which is portrayed as endemic to the country. What distinguishes it, however, from the addresses under Kerel is its focus on popular sovereignty. Kerel placed the state above the people; Ikomar has done the opposite, and portrayed the state as an emanation of the people, repeatedly highlighting them and their role in governance. More interestingly, the cultural and economic organizations of state, which were under Kerel instruments meant to control the population, were portrayed as playing four different roles in a participatory way:

• of expressing the desires of the people in an orderly fashion that respects all society
• of executing regulations made by the people
• constituting the state
• protecting the people from the excesses of the state

In essence, they have become more independent instruments of democratic expression, rather than arms of the state. They retain a conservative appearances, reflecting the structure of state before 1798, the words themselves appealing primarily to the traditionally more democratic West, peasants, and particularly Christians, all of whom are considered groups voting relatively conservatively - for the National Republican Party and the Patriotic Front.

The general content of this address reflects a movement within the government to revisit the political thought of the 1930s in Istkalen, a sharp turn away from the more authoritarian Tirakism of Kerel and towards, much more strongly, democracy, but at the same time, perhaps more negatively, one that turns towards conservatism, as evidenced by Ikomar's repeated references to the preservation of 'national culture,' 'national order,' and 'national ideals.'

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: the Parade for Democracy in Tartu

The Information Service is covering the Parade for Democracy, marking the 111th anniversary of the assassination of Istkalen's last emperor, which ended absolutism in Istkalen. Updates are to come.

---

The audience has gathered in the stands. Admission is free - the event is organized by the Chamber of Arts and Literature as a whole. This is expected to be one of the most widely attended Parades for Democracy since their inception in 1925. The reasons, as deduced by the Elder of the Chamber, are simple. People feel hopeless, as though the Emperor, or rather a worse Emperor, for such an Emperor would be foreign, is to return very soon. The Parade gives them hope, in a single dynamic display - hope that all emperors will be overcome and national democracy constructed.

The local occupational chambers and cultural associations have prepared floats for the celebration, each dedicated to how democracy revolutionized its corresponding occupation or culture. As of now, they are hidden, to be revealed during the parade - but rumors say that the display will be spectacular this year.

The event is considered one of the first major cultural events ordered by the Republic, although it did organize relatively large celebrations in a similar manner for the Day of Labor on 1 May and Mothers' Day on 9 May, both of which have long been considered major events.

The day is a national holiday, as the 1st of May laid on a weekend.

---

The members of the national state institutions, alongside the People's Committee of Tartu, have opened the parade. It is expected to start momentarily. The audience appears to be quite excited; people continue to enter as to watch the parade.

---

Planned Program

1. Introductory Remarks by the Head of State
2. Readings by Writers and Poets
3. Exhibition of the Unions
4. Exhibition of Culture
5. Exhibition of our City
6. Remarks by the National Assembly and Other Institutions of the Republic
7. Remarks by the People's Committee of Tartu
8. Performance by choir, band
9. Closing remarks

---

The Head of State, accompanied by the Council of Ministers, is presently giving a speech, regarding the importance of democracy and the necessity of its preservation. He has stated that the Republic is eternal; that it cannot be defeated and cannot be overthrown, and that even if it is suppressed forcibly, it will continue to live and eventually rebel.

---

Readings have begun, to great applause. They generally follow the same meaning and pattern as the introductory remarks.

---

The parade has begun, with the exhibition of the unions. The exhibition of culture and of the city of Tartu will follow it, after which will be remarks by various individuals and a performance by a choir and band.

---

Remarks have begun, to great applause, after the lengthy parade. A demonstration, perhaps, of the shockingly high approval ratings of the present Republic, now at about 90,3%.

---

The People's Committee is presently speaking of its grassroots nature and of the necessity of the Republic's preservation, continuing with the theme of the day.

---

The performance, of several patriotic songs of the Revolution of 1909, has begun.

---

Closing remarks, a summary of the event and importance, have begun.

---

The parade has ended.

[Istkalen]

The Citizens' Voice: The Social Democratic regime

The Social Democratic regime of this year started out relatively benevolently, despite the violence that precluded it.

Meinl-Reisinger herself, who led it, was a relatively popular and intelligent figure who managed to rehabilitate the Social Democratic Party - a member of its technocratic wing, to which Kerel, among others, belonged, and beyond all its leader. While maintaining much of the corruption that allowed it to remain in office, alongside the nominally single-party system, the vast majority of the population believed that things would soon change, and saw the coup as that change.

Indeed, Meinl-Reisinger, before the first of the government statements on the 15th of April - appeared to have managed to turn around much of the country's internal division, with evident plans to establish a more non-partisan system and restore the seven-chamber "traditional" state. Corrupt officials were stamped out, many arrested; there was a general air of hope. Yet none of this transpired; on the 15th of April, the regime abruptly re-organized itself into the form of the state that the right-nationalist wing of the party desired, away from the technocratic wing that would seize power on the 18th. Statements of a disturbing and ultranationalist nature were given out, in stark contrast to the 13th of April Address by Meinl-Reisinger. Below, the chasm that lies and laid between them is clearly shown:

13th of April:

• sets out the aims of what is termed a "National Union" - a broad, non-partisan organization that is meant to somehow unify politics. Abolition of partisanship.
• condemnation of "barbaric actions" in the National Assembly; states that all involved have been "taken into custody."
• sets out the occupational unions as self-governing, democratic - names them as her greatest accomplishment - "intermediate bodies" between the state and individuals
• courts a primarily conservative ideal of the future - based upon a restoration of an old order predicated upon union/guild and national unity and a market-based economy
• sets out a plan for the establishment of cultural organizations
• sets out a preference for the seven-chamber system of organization, associated with the old and with a more democratic order - denounces the eight-chamber system, seen as corrupt
• support for a stronger welfare system, predicating itself on the ulsien and ulsikes, which are stated to be "diverse in their forms"
• courting of mildly socially progressive rhetoric, focusing on women and the LGBT+ community
• generally conservative, although not reactionary, with emphasis on a more democratic system - a center-right, possibly Christian-Democratic deviation from the ideology of the technocrats

15th of April:

• abandonment of non-partisanship - absolute worship of a single-ruler
• any idea of self-government, "intermediate bodies" abandoned - everything is below the state and the leader
• a more modernist and revolutionary outlook to a future in which nothing except for Istkalen exists
• against the existence of cultures apart from a single culture mandated by the state
• against the existence of democracy as a whole
• refusal to acknowledge anything beyond the state - everything is to be integrated it, and nothing except it is to exist
• thoroughly totalitarian and strongly anti-conservative

The change is what caused the war - a change which can be attributed to the Minister of Defense, appointed as a result of an ongoing party-struggle between the technocratic and ultra-nationalist factions. Meinl-Reisinger was forced to choose to adopt their rhetoric while secretly keeping her own platform; this, however, could not even last through the day. Meinl-Reisinger was long a drug-enthusiast; she was seen inhaling a white powder, before sitting down and seemingly collapsing in a chair. The Minister of Defense then asked her to authorize war against Reitzmag, which she did, evidently under some sort of influence.

It was after this that everything began to go downhill. Meinl-Reisinger, in a short session after this, mysteriously changed positions quite suddenly, and began to agree completely with the aims of the conservative wing, attempting to purge the technocrats she had herself put into power, leading to the 18th of April coup against her. It is believed that she was somehow convinced of the position's merits, although this remains in serious doubt.

It is this "second change," far greater than the first more pragmatic one, that is of the greatest interest. Meinl-Reisinger was certainly not a hardliner, but she was opposed to the ultraconservatives. Why she would allow them to gain any control over her is beyond anyone's understanding. The primary belief, however, is that it was presented to her as a method of revolution, through which a new society could be created - something which, perhaps under some form of duress, she possibly would have accepted.

Eventually, as is well known to us, she was overthrown and killed.

The same happened again with Kerel, who himself abruptly turned to the statist conservatism of the right-wing of the party. The reasons for this turn, too, were relatively unknown, and and it will quite likely happen with Ikomar, although he does in theory come from a different party.

We can clearly say, however, that each of these turns, so common, have one thing in common: a desire for national unity and progress National unity was a core aspect of the technocratic ideology of Meinl-Reisinger and Kerel; a core aspect of the softer conservatism of Ikomar; so too is progress. The two of these necessitate some form of authoritarianism to prosecute easily; eventually, through some form a pressure, the result that totalitarianism is needed is arrived at.

It is an inevitability, especially in Istkalen, where so much of politics was laid by what amounted to a conservative dictatorship that sought to remake society, where time and time again the main aim of the ruling party is to forcibly change Istkalen itself, destroying the old and imposing the new.

The same strand, in different people - Kales, Tiraki, and many others - repeats itself because of this. Istkalen must thus push itself away from it, into the future, if it wishes to get out of that vicious cycle.

[Istkalen]

(OOC: Propaganda)

Istkalen Information Service: the Commission for the Abuses of the Occupation receives several disturbing testimonies

The Commission for the Abuses of the Occupation officially is in session, opened by the Head of State. The organization is meant to investigate potential abuses of the Reitzmo-Vardic Coalition in Istkalen; for this purpose, it called over 25 alleged witnesses and victims of brutality. Their reports were beyond shocking; many expressed worry that they would be killed for what they had said. Their identities were kept secret; even without a face and voice to put to them, their words have caused so much outrage and fear that the whole of the nation is in an uproar.

Excerpts from these testimonies are below.

WITNESS 048

"[The Reitzmic army] entered my village on the 18th of April. We had formed a committee beforehand; we were told to greet them. They were liberators, they said. We believed them. We were all mistaken. None of them were trying to trick us, mind you - many of them suffered the same fate. We were standing there, on a hill, shouting for them to come, waving, holding hastily-made banners celebrating their arrival. They did not care. When they came, they told us - the women - to separate and to go into the village square. I looked behind as we were being marched there; they were doing something similar to the children. I think the men were told to return home, although I'm not entirely sure."

"We followed their orders; we lined up in the square just as they told us to. They looked at us with greedy eyes, lustful eyes. I was scared; we all were scared. Someone tried to run; they shot her in the leg. She fell down, screaming, blood spilling onto the square; a soldier went up to her and - well, I can't say. She screamed; we all watched. We could not turn our heads; we were horrified, transfixed."

"They did not do it to us until the soldier was finished. The poor woman was screaming, crying; what monsters they were! No matter; they did not care about her. They turned to us, the soldier dressing again. They addressed us as [removed]. Then they threw themselves on us. I don't want to go into more detail; it's too much. Please.

But it ended; we were allowed to go home, crying. My children were returned a few hours later. Others were not as lucky. The soldiers would come again occasionally; they would threaten us all. We left on the 30th, crawling through the fields. We didn't know what they would do to us if we were caught."

WITNESS 033

"[The Reitzmic army] came on the 20th. They left us alone, for the most part, although there was a curfew. But they were allowed to do whatever they want. No one could close their shops; they would be taken if they did. They had to keep them open; the soldiers would sometimes come and rob them. They were not to demand payment; if they did, they would be taken. We had to leave everything available for them, basically. On the 23rd, they told the women to go to the central square. I am non-binary, so I assumed that I was not to do so. So I went to the market, and some of the soldiers were there. They asked me why I wasn't at the square. I said that I was non-binary. They told me that I was mentally ill, and marched me there. They brutalized us; I don't want to say anymore. They violated us; they treated us not as human. The one who did it to me kept shouting and hitting me. I don't; I didn't; know what to do. I tried to leave the following day. They took me and again did the same. We were supposed to be open to them, as payment for what we did to their country. I kicked them; I tried to run away, barely clothed. They shot at me; I kept running, and running. Eventually I collapsed; I was found, taken to a hospital in Liremer. I was safe there, or safer. But I don't want to go back, I can't. I don't want them to get me."

WITNESS 018

"[The Reitzmic army] occupied the town on the 22nd of April. We were lucky, I guess, for them to come so late. But they were worse, I think. They ransacked the whole of the town for three days. They took everything valuable - from the temple, from the union halls, from the schools, from even our own homes. They took everything that was gold or diamond especially. They then went for the stores. They had priority; they could take anything they wanted, without paying. The same soon applied to our homes; they would come in, take spoons and things like that - silverware, mostly - and then go out. It got very bad after the same began applying to our bodies. It was all some sort of retribution, reparation, for the war. But we didn't start it; why do we have to pay for it? They didn't harm me, thankfully, and every day I look to the heavens and thank God that they didn't; but they did so to many of those I knew; that I know. It was difficult to leave; I went out in a secret compartment of a car that one of my friends had - he worked in the city, for that he was allowed to leave."

"It's interesting to me, however, that they don't do it in the cities. Maybe it's because if they do it there, it would get out much more quickly. Who knows?"

---

The vast majority of the 58 testimonies delivered today describe events taking place in the countryside, where communication is significantly more limited. Those taking place in urban settings, significantly more crowded, generally occur in the evening or in the morning; however, most begin in public areas. Some of the more disturbing aspects, including looting, however, while significant in the countryside, are not reported at all in urban areas, although one witness claimed that he had been robbed at gunpoint by Vardic soldiers, while another claimed that they had been forced into labor at a metalworking plant by the same.

They remain, however, consistently brutal and horrifying, evidence of mass atrocities by the coalition in Istkalen.

[Istkalen]

Northern Radio: Get out while you still can - it is to begin soon

Popular music plays, and is suddenly interrupted.

The Northern Radio has an announcement to make. It is to begin soon. Get out, get out! They will soon close the path, we tell you; and then they will turn their guns against us!

How many of us will perish in the coming days? We do not know; they will kill many of us, as to break our spirit, so that we may serve them forever. So that they may carry out their demonic Hampton Declaration and its Addendum; so that we may be wiped off the face of the earth.

What they have done in the villages will be repeated. The road out will be cut off; we will be pushed into a prison without walls, but one in which we are still trapped. And day upon day, they will torture us and make us do their bidding, as their reparation. They will never be satisfied. They will slowly crush us, in their perverse, sadistic desire, make us do their bidding forever. Slowly, slowly, into eternity. For they get off on suffering; they want to see us suffer forever.

That is why they did not wipe out the villages. Many died, shot as they tried to run from the hell on Earth that they had created. But they did not kill everyone. They could never do this, as much as they might want to, for it would deprive them of their playthings. Yes, playthings - that is how they think of us. They loot our stores, our farms, our mines; they violate our people again and again without remorse, gleefully.

The children scream in the fields as they torture them; they go on. Not a tear falls from their eyes; they go on and on and on.

Those in the cities, in the villages in the interior have been safer. But we tell you, it will begin everywhere soon.

We already have gotten a taste of what they will do. We remember the howitzers firing on our towns and cities, undefended and without military presence. We remember how our homes, for those on the outskirts, were ripped apart; we remember the bloodied children, the bloodied elderly, being carried out, twitching, gaping holes in their bodies, the firing continuing without remorse. The innocent falling in the streets as their anthem blasted. The fires, for those in the mountains, as they fell, again and again, on the fields and the houses, everything going up into flames, for no reason.

That, again, soon, again and again, with the endless rape of our country.

Are we fearmongering? No, certainly not. We have seen the destruction they wrought on the innocent at the end of the war; the voices of the tortured women who they violated. The Northern Radio has found that they are planning to do this again. Everyone knows that they are capable of this and much worse; so get out. You know that they will close the borders, the airports, soon, and kill those who try to run.

Oh, of course, our People's Committees, our National Assembly, our Head of State, they will protect us! No. They are not strong enough; they will be rounded up and killed. The occupiers do not tolerate resistance.

And then? The end, the apocalypse!

Run for your lives, we tell you, run for them. Through the fields, across the rivers, anywhere outside of this country and the occupying nations! It will be painful, heartbreaking, but the alternative is far worse.

Do not let anyone stay; you do not know what the occupation will do to them. Save them; save everyone. Drag them away, if you have to; but save them. No one can be left in the country if our people are to survive.

The message repeats.

[Istkalen]

Istkalen Information Service: The crackdown on the Northern Radio continues; the National Assembly discusses its own abolition

The Northern Radio, broadcaster of racism and paranoia extraordinaire, continues to struggle on despite efforts to shut it down fully. Now a loose network of illegal stations, its audience has collapsed massively, as a result of its now greatly reduced range as well as government efforts to combat its bizarre propaganda, which posits that the Coalition plans to enact a genocide and that Vards are little more than animals.

Today, however, major breakthroughs were made after the broadcasting of a slightly less extreme announcement, which, while sharing many of the same trepidations that many Istkaleners feel, including worries about the introduction of neoliberalism, the alleged mass rape in the countryside, and the looting of mineral resources, continued telling its ultra-racist canard. The announcer, the famous Andres Liiv, the central provocateur employed by the station, was, based upon noises in the background and reports by those inhabiting the building from it now has been discovered he was recording from, discovered and arrested, at which point he was interrogated. He identified several others involved in the station, arguing that he was acting under orders from others, some of whom were found, most attempting to flee.

It is believed that the station's leadership has effectively been dissolved; with many individual broadcasters being found daily, the station is likely to collapse entirely soon.

The news is met largely with joy, although its influence remains.

"It is certainly good that it has collapsed," said a middle-aged woman, "but many of the things it said had a grain of truth. What if they really are coming to harm us? Of course, no one is leaving, as they suggested; but maybe we should prepare to hide. I am; many of my friends are. But maybe it's for the better - they were a bit too racist for my liking."

Ikomar, who is currently believed to be in a Spanish airport waiting for the arrival of his flight home, has not made any comment, nor is it believed he will make any until he arrives. However, the Minister of State, Ilest Kerel, who is partially responsible for the success of the crackdown, has:

"I am beyond overjoyed that Liiv and his cronies have been found," he said. "They were crazed, racists who wanted nothing more than to make people suffer. The hysteria they brought up has caused a disaster of never-before seen proportions; but I am certain we will be able to recover. Our nation is resilient and resourceful; nothing can stop us. We will rebuild, stronger!"

In other news, the National Assembly is presently discussing its own abolition.

Trepidations about liberal democracy are and have been widespread in Istkalen for decades; it is viewed as intrinsically unstable and unable to guarantee the continued stability of the country's middle class of smallholders and artisans, which have for a long time served as "kingmakers."

While the present state appears to have been able to do this, naysayers point primarily to the unstable "Liberal Era" in the 1970s and 1980s, when many smallholdings collapsed and artisans effectively were deprived of income, with rapid industrialization and the centralization of the economy into monopolistic entities. They also argue that the stark difference between Kerel and Ikomar - the former a socialist who pursued policies of central planning, the latter a conservative who has and continues to slowly liberalize the economy along the more traditional lines of "self-employment" and the cooperative association - demonstrates that a similar change, towards the neoliberalism allegedly espoused by the J-TAI, could occur and again cause devastation.

What is pursued, by much of society and by many of the members of the Assembly is the establishment of a radically presidential regime, supported by a greater number of occupational chambers - 16 in the most popular draft law - without occupational unions - thought, especially by artisans and peasants, to be anti-local and thus against their interests - and single-party in nature, along the lines of the "broad-based political organization" (the Patriotic Union) espoused by Ikomar, Meinl-Reisinger, when she was sane, and Empress Kales.

Debate is generally fierce. The National Assembly needs only a 3/5 vote to abolish itself; however, the battle will be fierce. The primary argument against it, interestingly, is not its presidential nature, nor its support for Ikomar's liberalization and thus its opposition to the occupational unions, but rather that the "Patriotic Union" will not be well-supported abroad and thus should instead be replaced with the current technocratic and non-partisan system.

Those in favor, of course, have responded to this: the "Patriotic Union" is necessary for national unity. Despite this, if amendments regarding it are made, the present supporters of the legislation will still likely support it, thus allowing for its passage with a wide majority.

It is certain, however, that the present system will not stay. The seven-chamber system is supported by only the Union Party in external politics; those to the right support the most prominent draft law, and the sole party to its left, the Communist Party, supports a socialist form of the sixteen-chamber system.

Once viewed by conservatives as the core of Istkalen's political system, support for it has in an instant collapsed. Coverage will continue as debate progresses.

[Istkalen]

THE END IS NIGH

From a blog that will not be identified (distorted and unreliable)

Mass arrests are currently taking place across Istkalen. Effectively all institutions of civil society have collapsed in their wake; leaders of organizations as diverse as the Women's Association and the Union of the Visual Arts, who sat on the National Assembly or the lower committees that elected it, have been arrested. The People's Committees have been dissolved.

So too have the traditional community courts, which were re-established as to try members of the Meinl-Reisinger regime for their crimes. What will happen to said criminals is as of yet unknown; the worry is that they will form a militia of some sort.

Not a single elder of the major newspapers remains; all, or almost all, sat on the committees or the National Assembly, and thus have been arrested. Everyone is terrified; they do not want to return to work. They do not even know whether it would be legal.

In her last act, the President of the Trade Federation of Istkalen, as she was being dragged away by police from the building of the National Assembly, screamed that "we must strike - strike! No one can work, no one is to work!"

Members of organs of the Trade Federation, the vast majority of which, for sitting on the various committees and organs of state, were arrested, rushed to promulgate these orders through society. They were relatively successful in doing so, and a general strike, indefinite in length, has begun, with estimated participation possibly as high as 90%.

Several citizens have also begun a hunger strike; others, more artistically inclined, are presently erecting a lewd statue of General Renwalt, depicting him in an act of a carnal nature with himself, before the J-TAI's chambers.

The exact reasons as to why the crackdown took place are unknown. Per the J-TAI, which (and this is being included purely for posterity) ignored political crisis, the perilous state of the economy, and mass hysteria - they were violating the "Instrument of Surrender;" which no one knew of until some time into the occupation, and which references a document that as of yet no one in Istkalen save some members of the government, who appeared to have been genuinely scared of releasing its contents to the people.

It is, however, causing a mild resurgence of hysteria. Some are now praising the Northern Radio, and Andres Liiv especially, as prophets and leading prophet, for their chillingly accurate prediction of what has come to pass; most are lamenting, however, the fact that they did not listen, and chose to remain in the country for what is almost certainly to be their deaths. No one has, however, left the towns; everyone is simply terrified too. With the country cut off from the rest of the world, many believe that the apocalypse has come.

The rumors of resource exploitation, alongside "extermination" of some sort, has continued, and has been further spurred by the cultural genocide that appears to be being planned in Reitzmag. How can we trust notoriously ethnocentric people who try to snuff out their own citizens?

One of these was the Elder of the Union of Mining, who, before his arrest, stood from his balcony, a large crowd having formed below it, and proclaimed that "they will never place their hands on the riches of these lands; never, never. They shall steal them only over our corpses!" He was shortly thereafter arrested as a result of his position in the Republic, midsentence.

It is perhaps because of this that the strike among miners has taken a different form. Most have barricaded themselves into the mining facilities, although not into the mines themselves; many have loudly proclaimed that they will never move, and that they must all die if "the occupier" wishes to take the mines. Many are armed.

Some also feel it suspicious that the crackdown came so soon after the accusations of mass rape, and believe that it is a coverup. Unfortunately, this is all too likely; again, if the country of Reitzmag is willing to engage in the erasure of its own culture, what exactly would they do to us?

What we can be thankful for, however, is that our Head of State's flight from Spain was delayed, and thus that he is to be unable to return and be arrested. Per reports from Madrid, he has exited the airport, named himself a "Permanent Representative to Spain," and joined Tijnszit at his office there. He is expected to form a government in exile soon; the two have attempted to seek asylum as well, arguing that they both face risk of torture and death in Istkalen, pointing again to the various alleged atrocities that have occurred in the countryside.

In any case, as was well documented, less than 1% of the population actually supports the J-TAI; surely, after this crackdown, no one will.

[Istkalen]

The National Times: Helejtek Vestisz X is coronated in bizarre ceremony at the Imperial Palace

His Excellency, the Helejtek (Emperor) Vestisz X was coronated but an hour ago at the Imperial Palace, in an attempt to maintain some level of Istkalener sovereignty over Istkalen itself.

The ceremony and subsequent ascension of Helejtek Vestisz himself was justified with vague clauses in the so-called "Proclamation of the Republic of Istkalen" from 1946 - similar to what was suggested to be done in the case that the central government was unwilling to hold elections. Most believe, however, that the action was entirely legal, and that the removal of the Helejtek by force would, by beyond-ancient laws which date as far back as 210 BC, by illegal and "in total opposition to the will of heaven itself."

The Helejtek's coronation, however, was beyond bizarre. Attended by several former military generals, who appear to have coerced him into the ceremony - the Helejtek, formerly an engineer, was a republican, although a supporter of the small conservative Green Party - it was short and almost bureaucratic. Several lengthy forms, hastily printed before the ceremony, were filled out by Vestisz, who appeared to be almost in pain. This process took over an hour, after which a teacher of toddlers was brought out and told to loudly announce that Vestisz was Helejtek.

Vestisz himself has said that his position is "temporary," that he is not the head of state or the head of government but rather a caretaker of sorts who will resign upon the return of Ikomar (on track to become one of the most beloved politicians in Istkalen's history, if the present state continues for much longer), and that all he will do is restore the dismantled institutions of state, while at the same time attempting reconciliation with the J-TAI.

His first order was, however, in slight contradiction to this. It ordered the liberation of individuals arrested by Istkalen's police on the basis of the recent declaration made by the J-TAI, for the most part members of local governments.; however, it also effectively established the Draft Law on the Re-organization of the National Assembly, which it was debating upon its dissolution, as law.

Elections are to be held on its basis rapidly - on the 31st, in fact - as to ensure that the institutions of state are restored as quickly as possible. They are to be done on the basis of the sixteen chambers on a local and regional level.

The Helejtek re-assured the J-TAI that the administration was not meant to undermine its power, but rather simply to administrate, as the J-TAI itself "appears wholly incapable" of taking care of basic administration.

The People's Committees are expected to temporarily reform themselves, or be re-elected; the Helejtek has advised that citizens do as such.

The primary hope is that the restoration of the monarchy will help clarify the situation in Istkalen, which remains heavily confused. As with the previous attempted abolition of the government, false news is everywhere, and there is general panic over how the declaration and the Instrument of Surrender has been interpreted. No one knows whether the local governments are allowed to operate, or whether they are simply even arrested; the present state may alleviate this.

[Istkalen]

PROCLAMATION OF THE NEW REPUBLIC

I, Eva van der Bijl, leader of the United Workers' Revolutionary Communist Party - Councils for the Creation of an Egalitarian Society, declare, in this crisis, that the revolution has begun!

The New Republic is formed! Before you stands the great Revolutionary Council, of those who shall lead our revolution! I, with Katzian, shall serve as the joint Presidents of this Council!

Our work lies ahead of us; we are to create a new and democratic socialist society. In this, we must make adjustments to the material situation of Istkalen. President Katzian was opposed to this, and suggested the implementation instead of his theory of the Great Pile, but he was outvoted. In accordance with the principle of democratic centralism, he can, to put it bluntly, no longer complain.

We will thus preserve the independence of the cooperative association and the individual laborer, as is in the tradition of Istkalen; however, it must be made clear that we will immediately be taking steps toward abolishing the state of servitude. In the cooperative association, no longer will the workers be entirely enslaved to the elder; they will in this preserve a degree of independence, although of course we still must have an eye towards our history. The workers, however, will be freed of the vagaries of the market; the workers' committees, so called for, will become the new basis of the economy and the state, killing the monster of neoliberalism and its chidlren.

For the individual laborers, we will be making every attempt to ensure that they are no longer wholly dependent on the whims of the market. All of those who work will be provided for.

We strive forward to create a new society, predicated on liberty, equality, and solidarity, a society infused with justice, true justice. No longer will the old, which sought to bring all down, prevail. All will be equals; all will be free.

It is thus that I proclaim the Republic of Istkalen, the true republic, of the people.

It shall be organized per the demands of the people. The sixteen workers' committees, on an occupational basis; the "Patriotic Union," no longer a vulgar instrument of reactionaries but rather a truly representative organ of the people which shall ever advance their situation. Our Revolutionary Council ever at the helm.

All the municipalities elected on the basis of the committees; a society truly democratic, free of the machinations of the bourgeoisie.

The abolition of the hierarchies, gradually, as we advance ever towards the better society ahead!

We have promulgated the instructions for the elections on our website, uwrcpcces0516.wordpress.com, so that all can see them. We are using our party as an organization for their organization, as well as that of the "Patriotic Union;" we encourage citizens to help in this.

Now, onwards! Towards the new society, towards the new Istkalen!

Long live the Republic!

[Istkalen]

The National Times: Ms. van der Bijl, Mr. Katzian are deported; farmers deliver ultimatum to the J-TAI

Correction: The petition below was not approved by any trade union, nor by anywhere near 500,000 people; it appears that no one, in fact, has had any interest in it

As political chaos ravages the country, with uncertainty over the status of remaining institutions of state, at least one thing has become clearer.

Earlier today, Ms. van der Bijl and Mr. Katzian, who attempted to form a government with the nine other members of their party, were taken into custody and forcibly expelled from the country. The two, 'refugees' who appear to hop between country and country in search of one malleable to their revolution, were already well-known for disseminating false information, as well as violent rhetoric, as they had done in the many previous countries they had been in before.

Their expulsion, which occurred in a nature preserve, was met with widespread applause. The two were seen largely as performance artists with little importance; in a way, laughable. One blogger's commentary called their various attempts to paint themselves as important a "very, very sad, comedy; one would laugh at it if they weren't such pitiable figures."

Most felt as though it will cause a drop in the severe instability that formed upon the collapse of the democratic "Republic of Istkalen," by centering power under the nascent "State of Istkalen" under Helejtek Vestisz X; however, the "Council of State" formed by the two will apparently continue on. Its members, most of whom, while well-educated - mostly doctors, engineers, and educators - appear to have joined simply as to laugh at the attempts of the two leaders to gain power, will continue to hold office. They have largely re-oriented its efforts away from the communist ideals of the two, and instead to Green-Party-esque conservative politics, which retain the same vaguely socialist nature, while at the same time attempting to "blend" it with the historically predominant political and cultural systems in Istkalen.

The Council of State, after these changes, was openly endorsed by the Communist, Union, and Green Parties, with the Patriotic League and the National Republicans, oddly enough, endorsing the Helejtek, despite him being a member of the Green Party.

Both endorse effectively identical political systems, and diverge only on the economy, and even then only slightly; most of the reformed People's Committees participating in the coming elections have stated that the "Patriotic Union" formed by both will be considered as one, and that only one election, to both of the proposed and identical states, will be held.

Support for this, however, is significantly lower than for the old Republic, which had to its benefit a strong legal basis and existing institutions.

In other news, farmers, joined by those in the sector of commerce, have delivered a dangerous ultimatum to the J-TAI in an attempt to dismantle it.

"Either you leave," its first sentence goes, "or everyone starves."

The ultimatum essentially states that farmers will not farm and that importers will not import anything as to make up for the deficit if the J-TAI does not begin to leave in the coming two weeks.

It has been signed by the corresponding member-unions of the Labor Federation; thousands of others have signed it, with many more doing so and planning to do so.

Combined with strikers and factory occupiers, who have in recent days managed to stop electricity production indefinitely, the effects will be beyond disastrous.

A copy of it is below.

---

TO THE JOINT TRANSITIONAL AUTHORITY FOR ISTKALEN

Either you leave, or everyone starves.

That is the simple message we bring to you. We will be without mercy; we swear that we all will die if you do not comply with our demands.

Within two weeks, you are to begin the process of dismantling yourself. We have little against the present occupation, if it can be proved that the atrocities truly have not occurred; but we abhor that you have usurped power and have used that power to leave this country miserable.

If you do not, we promise the following.

We will no longer work in the fields, we will no longer harvest. We will burn our crops, what little harvest we have, so that there is none left.

We will no longer import what is necessary, nor try to rectify the destruction of the harvest with importation. There will be nothing for Istkalen; everyone shall die if you do not dismantle yourself within a week.

We will no longer distribute necessities. All shall be destroyed, and we shall go happily to our deaths, knowing that you will have been proven brutal and evil.

Do you think the people of this nation will be angry? They will not. All of them would rather die than live a tortured existence under you. They shall go to their deaths, as we will, joyfully, knowing that your name will be forever slandered.

We do not think you will give in. You will be content to see us die, for how will it affect you? So long as you have the resources of this nation to make yourselves fat on, you will be happy. The empty land, too, will serve as living space for your citizens - surely you will rejoice at that, won't you?

So, then, watch as we laugh, even as skeletons, falling to the ground in masses. The old, the young, everyone. Watch, and rejoice!

But, of course, who else will?

We are a stalwart people; do not underestimate us. We will carry this out with the greatest fervor.

We will not falter; through this we will continue, even as we begin to die. We will mourn, we will be saddened by what we will have done; but we will know that it has been done for a good cause.

To our last dying breath, we will curse you for what you have done, for what you planned to do, to us.

---

[Istkalen]

The National Times: Exodus from the cities as order collapses
The Republic of Istkalen has declared that this is misinformation, spread primarily to further create the idea that Istkalen is unstable. Istkalen is prospering.

On the 27th of May, a general strike, the scale of which is unprecedented, begun. It was then that the nightmare begun.

By the 1st, the sanitation workers refusing to work, the garbage of the previous week accumulated on the streets of the cities of Istkalen. The smell was terrible; a great infestation of rats rose up. They were everywhere, skittering here and there.

Many were too scared to go outside, so terrible was the smell and the rats. But on the 1st, some brave souls went as to burn the garbage. The cities were clogged, then, with terrible noxious smoke -the rats still there, covering the streets as they ran back and forth through the cities.

Shortages, meanwhile, plagued the city. Many, if not all, of the farms within the city had been abandoned rapidly after the arrival of the rats; at the same time, with transportation workers on strike, nothing was being taken into the city.

No one wanted to go out and face the smoke and the garbage and the rats; but this was untenable. On the 3rd, small streams of people began to go out - but as expected, there was no one as to tend to the stores. Desperate, some broke in, and that is when the looting and the crime began.

~~Those who broke in, knowing that a shortage was to come, took as much as they could, whether it was food or petrol. ~~

Meanwhile, the garbage fires that had been lit spread, into buildings, into parks, especially in the capital and surrounding conurbation. There and in many other places, they continued to spread, eating more and more and more, until great areas - of parkland, of farmland, of housing - were aflame. An attempt was made to combat the fires; it failed, the fire continuing to spread.

Thousands, quite quickly, lost their homes and their belongings, and were thrown onto the smoke-clogged streets.

The rats fleeing the cities, many followed suit.

Without food, surrounded by fire, a veritable exodus began, thousands running as fast as they could away from the hell that had been created in just a short few days. The countryside, part of the thinking went, did not have such a severe condition in terms of food shortages - it was where most of it was produced.

Many were turned away - without electricity, it turned out, the situation remained perilous in the countryside, although certainly not as bad in the cities. The People's Committees of the villages and towns often argued that they had to prioritize their own citizens above those from other areas; they refused, as such, to offer refuge to many of those from the cities.

Many had to walk for up to 150 kilometers, into the night and sometimes the next day, simply to seek shelter and food. Several, exhausted, collapsed on the side of the road; some, especially the elderly, died there, alone and without comfort.

Despite the severity of the general strike, which has effectively destroyed the country's infrastructure, it is not expected to end until the J-TAI agrees to the agreement proposed by the Republic. Many, however, have become impatient; it is believed that a partisan movement may begin if action is not made.

[Istkalen]

Postimees: The East is plunged into panic; the West remains calm
We have been advised to mark this as misinformation, and have labeled it as such. The source from which we found this information has since been banned for its spreading of misinformation against the state and nation.

The East of the country has plunged into chaos - although not one that is violence. Much of the Capital Region is aflame; hundreds of thousands continue to stream out from it into the countryside - an apparent result of the general strike, which paralyzed the economy almost entirely.

It is thus perhaps fortunate that this has not yet befallen the West. Some level of moderation has remained there; at the very least, electricity has not been cut off and the movement of food from the countryside into the cities continues.

There remains anger towards the J-TAI; yet, fortunately, it has not manifested in the self-destructiveness of the capital region especially. No exodus from the cities has occurred here, and perhaps not even from much of the East save from the Capital Region.

In light of this, however, the general strike has come to an "organic" end. Fearful that the same which has stricken the Capital Region will strike elsewhere, many, save for miners, who remain in their stalwart occupation of the mines, have returned to work.

Many are unhappy with this, for they believed that such a strike would eventually force the J-TAI out; however, they have accepted it as vitally necessary, in order to preserve life itself.

Support for a partisan movement against the J-TAI, however, has risen, which is worrying.

The economy appears at least partially to have responded well; while there was a steep downturn during the war and after the dissolution of the Republic, said downturn has at the very least now slowed. Exports, however, are not likely to recover until the J-TAI is dissolved.

The issue of the Capital Region, however, remains a threat. Holding the lion's share of Istkalen's economy, its ongoing destruction may leave the country scarred for a long time afterwards.

With the number of internally displaced people already high as a result of repeated "evacuations" of the cities, the present events are expected only to add to them, further causing chaos and economic strain.

The situation seems untenable; the country can no longer support the level of political, economic, and societal disorder that it is experiencing as a result of the occupation.

[Istkalen]

Postimees: Hysteria - more and more, let it stop!

We greatly regret having to inform you that the hysteria in the north has yet again climbed. With Mr. Liiv, and the Northern Radio's formerly disgraced staff in general, now seen as prophets for their eerily accurate predictions of the arrest of the legitimately elected legislature, the total closure of the borders, and now possibly colonization (many suspect the declaration that over two million will be conscripted in Reitzmag to be, in reality, a declaration of the sending of settlers en masse), they have gained ever more influence over the opinions of the population - and the general crazed state that exists in the north, with tomato puree now everywhere, priests screaming nonsense in the streets, and women dancing crazily while ululating in front of their housing, has, in turn, increased greatly.

Severe shortages of tomatoes continue. The vegetables, believed to have the ability to ward away Vards, are in such demand that people are willing to kill for it. In fact, such an incident occurred yesterday, when an elderly woman was beaten almost to death by a forty-three year old man for a single slice of tomato contained in the salad she was taking to a meeting of the local Seniors' Association. The woman, fortunately, has been taken to hospital, and is expected to recover; the man, however, was arrested. As a result of severe disruptions caused by the dissolution of the Republic and general concern over who exactly has jurisdiction and what law exactly applies, if at all, no trial can be held until some form of clarification is made, requiring the man in question to be held in jail, without bail, indefinitely until the issue is resolved.

In other fits of craziness over the tomato, a group of priests were seen walking through a village and throwing, from a bucket, tomato puree over everything, while chanting loudly what appeared to be nonsense derived from one of the programs of the Northern Radio. The incident was celebrated by the villagers, many of whom danced outside, wearing, as is now unfortunately normal, cardboard boxes as to ensure that Vards do not see their torsos or anything approximating their torsos, as the tomato puree landed on their bodies. They would then smear it across them and the boxes they were wearing, before continuing to dance, screaming various praises to the priests and to God.

Elsewhere, at a busy market, a woman accused a merchant of being a Vardic agent, as she was upset with rationing policies that had nothing to do with the merchant. Said merchant was then attacked by a mob, tomato puree thrown at him before he was jumped on, dragged, unconscious, into a nearby ditch, covered in a thin layer of dirt, and left there to suffer as the mob and most of the others in the market celebrated their "defeat," in which they gathered tomatoes and the spilled tomato puree at the center of the marketplace before praising and seemingly praying to the tomatoes and puree because of the "victory against the Horde" it had led them to. The merchant fortunately survived; unfortunately, no one can be arrested, as it is unclear who participated and who did not, and most are worried of legal trouble and possible arrest by the "thugs" of the J-TAI if they make any sort of decision.

Even worse, a large group would later set upon the gathered tomatoes and puree, fighting each other to get more as to protect themselves against the Vards, leading to eighteen injuries. The market has since been closed and forced to relocate as a result of the repeated incidents occurring there.

Many other incidents, of looting and of violence over tomatoes, have occurred; they have become so common as to become normal.

The severity of the shortages, in addition to the extreme desire for the tomatoes, has led to a massive ballooning of the cost. One tomato, on average, now costs well over 70 ketsels, expected to continue to increase sharply in the coming days. Attempts to impose price controls have not been fruitful.

In other events, the storytime assemblies have continued. Teachers continue to regale children with stories of how the Vards will assault them with various vegetables and fruits in various areas considered vulgar; they have supplemented this with passages from the newly released "The Modern Mother Goose," which includes rhymes such as:

"Greedy General Renwalt,"
"Mr. Kim is Going to Fry,"
"[name], [name], Go Away,"
and
"Hey, Ho, They Will Go,"

Glitter and cucumbers, now impossible to find, remain prized objects among children, the trade of them flourishing in a sort of black market in the schools.

Their walks to and from the schools have themselves gotten much worse. Wearing cardboard boxes, tomato puree covering their faces - obtained generally by the school - they walk, holding a rope, behind priests, who flick more puree on the road before them, as women, before their housing lining the roads, dance crazily and ululate in an attempt to scare Vards away, per the instructions of the Northern Radio.

The young adults, on the other hand, are wasting their talent and creativity at a hitherto unseen scale. With the universities closed, generally as a result of the continuing strike, they have turned almost all of their time to the production of vulgar art of Vardic and Reitzmic soldiers - a true scar on themselves, their families, and their nation. Their productivity in this is terrifying - they produce up to 1000 times the "works" in this genre per week as teenage girls produced regarding the relationship between Aguilar and Bridges did on average in a month. The internet is flooded with their work, scarring many permanently as their work climbs upward through search engine results - typed screams of "Bleach! Bleach!" in relation to the vulgar works are now far too common.

What, then, of the south? People there have simply barricaded themselves inside their homes, waiting to die. They believe that the Reitzmics will "play" with them before killing them; they want to put that off as much as is possible, and thus have tried to shut themselves off from the outside world. Perhaps simpler then the craziness in the North; but perhaps it is worse. Here, we have hope; there, they have none.

[Istkalen]

The Citizens' Voice: Ikomar urges calm as the Republic attempts to wrest back power from the Joint Transitional Authority for Istkalen

As the Republic continues to attempt to reconsolidate itself following its dissolution and the resulting chaos and hysteria, the Premier, Liros Ikomar, who continues to remain abroad due to worries surrounding his security in Istkalen, has made an appeal for calm.

"The claims of the Northern Radio are entirely false. Liiv and his cronies are criminals whose only desire is to terrify people as for their own gratification. The Republic continues to be in negotiations with the J-TAI as for the preservation of self-rule, which we continue to view as our sole priority. So please, remain calm. On guard, yes - we remain in dangerous and uncertain times - but calm," he stated.

The message comes as the cult of personality around Liiv has begun to escalate even further, with some going as far as to proclaim him a prophet of God, worrying many across the nation. Some speculate that the message itself was not meant to oppose the Northern Radio, but rather Liiv's increasing popularity and thus danger to the state and peace. Most, however, believe the simplest explanation - that the insanity was climbing to an unacceptably high level, and, per his duties as the interim Premier, it was Ikomar's duty to make such a statement.

Regardless, he would later continue by speaking of the tomato and cardboard box crazes, which he condemned, before rapidly announcing that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning had instituted price controls as well as rationing in response. The measures, meant to put to a stop the ongoing inflation and shortages, have been attempted before, to little success; the state, however, believes that centralized application of the policy may work.

Most People's Committees, which continue to hold power across the country and have remained the only stable government through the period of occupation, are expected to at the very least attempt to implement the policy again; the central government, in its attempt to encourage them to do so and rebuild its base of support and power, has promised support from the Popular Militia, which remains under state rather than committee control.

This was joined by an announcement that, as a result of the economic turmoil that the country continues to face, the state-oriented policies of Kerel would make a "return." Limited "liberalization," in which greater control was given to individual economic actors, occurred before the dissolution of the Republic; blamed, now, by several political factions for certain economic issues, combined with economic instability and a fear that freer policies could endanger recovery, the Council of Ministers has been put under extreme pressure, especially by the National Assembly and the occupational chambers, to return to the previous model of development.

Ikomar has not expressed complaint over the decision, instead calling it necessary; however, he stressed that greater decentralization was necessary - which has indeed been integrated into the restoration to an extent.

Some have speculated that the move, more than being an attempt to restablize the economy, is in reality an attempt to align the government with others seen as more hospitable towards the government - that is, the various socialist governments, seen as diametrically opposed to the occupying powers - by establishing itself as socialist. The government has denied this; however, some parties, especially the Communist Party and the newly founded "Socialist Party," a social-democratic party that split from it recently, have gone as far as to praise the government for these actions in this vein.

Regardless, the majority view is that the actions have a purpose twofold in nature - first, to ensure calm, and secondly, to wrest power back from the Joint Transitional Authority. The new Republic has struggled to re-assert its nominal power in Istkalen, especially against the Joint Transitional Authority, which much of the population now fears; by instituting popular and rational policies on a national level, it may believe that it can regain the trust and the power of the People's Committees, and thus again govern through them. While it does have aspirations of forming a settlement with the J-TAI, it seems as though talks have slowed, which may have driven them to struggle for power yet again.

The reaction of the Joint Transitional Authority is as of not known. Most, however, believe that it will look at this negatively. It does not wish the Republic to have any true authority in Istkalen; it wishes instead to reserve all political authority in the country for itself, leaving the Republic as a vaguely advisory structure, similarly to a "Shadow Government" in countries with more oppositional forms of governance - that is, as to scrutinize its policies and offer potential alternatives in a non-binding way. Some have predicted that a second dissolution will occur as a result of the efforts of the new Republic, especially with the increasingly harsh policies being taken towards Copala City.